The Infertility Trap: The Fertility Costs of Group-Living in Mammalian Social Evolution

Mammal social groups vary considerably in size from single individuals to very large herds. In some taxa, these groups are extremely stable, with at least some individuals being members of the same group throughout their lives; in other taxa, groups are unstable, with membership changing by the day. We argue that this variability in grouping patterns reflects a tradeoff between group size as a solution to environmental demands and the costs created by stress-induced infertility (creating an infertility trap). These costs are so steep that, all else equal, they will limit group size in mammals to ∼15 individuals. A species will only be able to live in larger groups if it evolves strategies that mitigate these costs. We suggest that mammals have opted for one of two solutions. One option (fission-fusion herding) is low cost but high risk; the other (bonded social groups) is risk-averse, but costly in terms of cognitive requirements.

Courtship strategies of white-tailed deer and mule deer males when living in sympatry

Courtship behaviour reflects characteristics of an animal’s general biology, while also reflecting selective pressures specific to reproduction. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) are sister species that differ in antipredator behaviour and sociality. We observed sympatric mule deer and white-tailed males to document their grouping patterns, courtship tactics, and aggressive interactions during the breeding season. Consistent with the hypothesis that courtship strategies reflect species differences in antipredator tactics and sociality, mule deer males were more likely than white-tailed males to tend females in multi male–multi female groups. White-tailed males almost exclusively tended females in isolated pairs and prevented other males from joining their groups. However, both species spent more time in isolated pairs as courtship advanced, likely to reduce competition. Our results enabled us to distinguish courtship behaviours that reflect contrasting antipredator tactics and sociality from courtship behaviours that reflect reproductive selective pressures that the species share.

Multiple high-risk HPV genotypes are grouped by type and are associated with viral load and risk factors

SUMMARYInvestigating whether high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) types tend to become grouped in a particular way and whether factors are associated with such grouping is important for measuring the real impact of vaccination. In total, 219 women proving positive for HPV as detected by real-time PCR were included in the study. Each sample was analysed for detecting and quantifying six viral types and the hydroxymethylbilane synthase gene. Multiple correspondence analysis led to determining grouping patterns for six HR-HPV types and simultaneous association with multiple variables and whether viral load was related to the coexistence of other viral types. Two grouping profiles were identified: the first included HPV-16 and HPV-45 and the second profile was represented by HPV-31, HPV-33 and HPV-58. Variables such as origin, contraceptive method, births and pregnancies, educational level, healthcare affiliation regime, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance and viral load were associated with these grouping profiles. Different socio-demographic characteristics were found when coinfection occurred by phylogenetically related HPV types and when coinfection was due to non-related types. Biological characteristics, the number of viral copies, temporality regarding acquiring infection and competition between viral types could influence the configuration of grouping patterns. Characteristics related to women and HPV, influence such interactions between coexisting HPV types reflecting the importance of their evaluation.